God has a wonderful plan for each of our lives. He has appointed the times and seasons for our lives. “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:”(Ecclesiastes 3:1).
Far too many have allowed the day of their salvation to pass, and the results were disastrous. One of the saddest scriptures in the Bible is found in Jeremiah 8:20, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.”
2 Corinthians 6:2 – (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
Delay is unreasonable, dangerous, and foolish. To neglect Paul’s appeal would be to defy and displease God.
Given the fact of hell, mankind in his sin is in a terrible situation. Why would anyone delay repentance? Yet many do, even while admitting their sin and even seeing their need for salvation.
There are several reasons not to delay repentance.
One problem with delaying repentance is that no one knows the day they will die. And after death comes the judgment (Hebrews 9:27).
Another reason to not delay repentance is that, every time we refuse to repent, we continue to sin and our hearts get harder (Hebrews 3:7-8). Every time a person says “no” to what’s right, it becomes a little easier to say “no” the next time, too.
Also, the harder a person’s heart becomes, the more “force” God will have to apply to bring him or her to repentance. “Some people will change when they see the light. Others change only when they feel the heat.” — Traditional.
Tragically, there is a point of no return. God may eventually stop trying to bring the chronically rebellious to repentance and give them over to their own ways (Romans 1:28). We never know when this point of no return is, so the best thing to do is timely repentance.
2 Peter 3:9
[9] The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
“NOW IS THE ACCEPTED TIME”! “NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION”! Not tomorrow, not next month, not next year. NOW!
